No one in the Northeast or Midwest will shed a tear for William H. Macy’s complaints about the cold while shooting the beloved 1998 film “Pleasantville” in Malibu.
However, Macy’s grievances may be justified. He was filming a memorable scene where his character, George Parker, comes home one night to discover his wife is missing and there’s no dinner waiting for him.
“It was two freezing nights of shooting in Malibu in January,” Macy revealed during a candid interview. “And the rain trees were a sight to behold. They had massive construction cranes holding enormous pipes that pumped thousands of gallons of water. They even built a street for the scene, but as soon as I stepped outside, I was drenched within seconds. I was freezing, and we had to do multiple takes. I screamed my voice away, like King Lear on his knees, demanding my dinner.”
Despite his challenging experience, Macy was in for a surprise at the film’s premiere, where he discovered that his demanding scene was drastically cut down.
“Gary was behind me and he pulls on my coat and goes, ‘Oh, I had to trim up that scene.’ Then I saw the film. I walk out of the house, I look up and go, ‘Where’s my dinner?’ Cut! That was it. The rest of it never made it into the movie,” Macy shared.
While Macy’s drenching may not have been his toughest moment on set, he recalled a significant scene that required him to cry, showing his character’s awakening alongside Joan Allen’s Betty.
“It was scripted that I would shed a tear and the world would start to turn colorful,” Macy reminisced. “It was a grand scene with an elaborate setup. Gary had every tool imaginable to shoot it. I approached Gary and said, ‘I can do this, but not all day. You have to let me know when the money shot is. I can make myself cry, but it’s not my strongest skill. So tell me when we reach it.’ Gary replied, ‘Okay, let’s just hear how it sounds. Let’s read the lines.’
“And suddenly, I burst into tears and I cried for 12 hours straight. I couldn’t stop,” Macy added with a pause. “I guess I had some unresolved emotional issues.”
